


Wolf in the Water

by EvilMuffins



Category: Dangan Ronpa
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Altnernate Universe- Fairytale, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, SHSL Rare Pair Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-29
Updated: 2015-03-29
Packaged: 2018-03-20 03:21:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3634743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilMuffins/pseuds/EvilMuffins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Either way, there was no point in pretending that she only ate kelp.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wolf in the Water

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Rare Pairs Week Day 7- Neptune (God of the sea)
> 
> Heads up that Mondo is dead at the beginning of this story, though Ishimaru copes much better here than he does in canon.

  _Red Ridinghood,_

_How nice to meet you._

_You look so pretty,_

_I could eat you!_

 

Once upon a time, there was a mermaid.

She flicked her tail experimentally. Something was entangled around her fin. Turning to peer at her fins as best she could despite the darkness of the surrounding water, she discovered that the offending article appeared to be some sort of dark cloth.

After carefully uncoiling it, she carried it back to her cave, deep at the bottom of the lake.

Holding it up to the soft light from the luminescent algae, she saw that it was man’s jacket, long and black, covered in ornate embroidery. It appeared well taken care of, not the usual trash that was often tossed into her home.

She considered using it as a wall-hanging, but ultimately decided against it, deeming it too masculine to fit in with her elegant decor. Not wanting to find it wrapped around any of her appendages again, she decided that a trip to the surface was in order. She’d toss the thing onto the shore and let the humans worry about it.

Upon breeching the lake surface near shore, the merperson discovered a strange object half submerged in the water. It appeared to be a large machine with two wheels. Clearly it was one of those contraptions meant to help the humans travel across land, though she had never seen this particular type before. Not that she paid much attention to such matters, of course. She was quite certain that if she were human, a horse and buggy would be her conveyance of choice, far more elegant.

Her musing on human transportation was interrupted by an odd sound. It came in short bursts, and sounded as if it were perhaps caused by a human voice, though it was clearly nothing coherent such as words. Curiosity overcame her, drawing her closer to the shore. As she approached, she realised that a man sat huddled in the damp sand, back resting against the other side of the odd contraption. Water was streaming from his eyes as he stood and began tugging at the machine, attempting to retrieve the object from the water. Then, as suddenly as his efforts began, he ceased, eyes growing wide with surprised as they fell upon the water.

“Young Lady, it’s dangerous to take a swim at this time of night.”

She had been spotted. It wouldn’t be the first time. The thought crossed her mind to just play along with him, until her eyes met with his. Even in the dark, their vibrant red hue was mesmerizing. The merfolk were color-blind for the most part, yet red had always been clearly visible to them. Liquid still streamed from the man’s eyes as they gazed at one another.

“Your eyes seem to have a sprung leak, Good Sir. Perhaps you should think about seeing a doctor.”

The man chuckled weakly in response. His previous expression, the one that she had not quite understood, grew into a small smile. “You’re right. It’s not proper to cry in front of a lady, is it? My apologies; I didn’t know I had company.” The man patted his pockets, but unable to locate a hanky, dabbed at his somewhat swollen face with his sleeve. She found herself vaguely irritated when his eyes briefly disappeared behind his arm.

“Was it you who was making the odd sound before?”

“You heard me crying? I was hoping you had shown up after that part…”

“ _Crying…?”_ The merwoman repeated the unfamiliar word.

“My brother…I mean, my friend, he crashed his motorbike into the lake and drown.” The man’s eyes began to glisten once more. “They couldn’t find the body, and they won’t be bringing anyone by to pull his bike out of the mud until tomorrow...” he checked his pocket watch. “I guess that would be later today by now.”

 _Couldn’t find the body…?_ Had one with the braided hair and lolling tongue been feasting again? Or perhaps the one who sang incessantly, with the long blue hair? There were only so many mermaids in the mid-sized lake, situated on the outskirts of the tiny human village of Hope’s Peak. However, they were solitary creatures, and therefore had no need for names to call one another. They certainly never shared their meals.

As the man stopped speaking in order to wipe his eyes once again, she took her leave, submerging under the dark surface, leaving only a tiny swirl of bubbles for the man to remember her by.

She swam with the jacket still bundled to her bare chest, not having yet had a chance to rid herself of it.

 _Sorrow?_ Could it have been sorrow that the man had felt at the loss of his ‘brother’? She had heard tell that the humans experiences emotions that her people didn’t, though she hadn’t fully believed the stories.

As she returned to her cave for the night, she hung the jacket on her bed post. It had most likely belonged to the drowned (that is to say, devoured) man. As she thought back to the brilliant red eyes of the man crying on the beach, a plan began to slither its way into her head. It _had_ been quite a while since she had last fed. Her pink lips smacked as she envisioned herself savoring the ruby delicacies.

She wondered if as he lay dying, he might cry again. She would like to see that very much, she decided.

So the following evening, the mermaid took a chance that the dark-haired man would be at the lakeside once more, still mourning his loss. She cloaked herself in the oversized black jacket, rising to the surface. Sure enough, the motorbike was gone now and the man stood by the water’s edge, staring wistfully across to the far shore.

As deep in thought as he was, he surely wouldn’t notice if she wriggled up onto the shore a few yards down.

As large as the coat was, she managed to hide herself under it entirely, making it clear that a body was being concealed underneath.

Once she was safely positioned, the mermaid pursed her lips and whistled. Though the man may be foolish, still she hoped that he would look in the direction of the sound. He’d see his friend’s belonging covering up a body-shaped lump and of course he’d feel the need to inspect it. Then, when he pulled back the cloth, she would gobble him up. Oh, he’d cry and cry, what a delight! She nearly quivered under her hideaway.

Sure enough, she could hear the sloppy sound of boots rushing through the wet sand.

As the man pulled back the sodden fabric, she coiled to strike.

“Miss, are you, by any chance, the Water Wolf?”

She couldn’t understand. Her body had failed her. It as if her head had been placed erroneously onto a body of stone. She had meant to strike out at the man immediately, but instead she’d frozen up, giving him ample time to speak.

He didn’t seem at all shocked about her appearance, unlike all of her previous victims had been.

 _The ‘Water Wolf’?_ Is that what the humans had been calling her these days? Though she would have preferred to be known by something more cat-like, she supposed this moniker had a certain ring to it.

“So what if I am?” she smiled back at him pleasantly, batting her ample lashes. Perhaps he might let his guard down, and she’d have a second chance. Either way, there was no point in pretending that she only ate kelp, when it was clear he knew the truth. Although she was no stranger to lies (though the merfolk had no official names for one-another, the phrase ‘Queen of Liars’ was occasionally tossed about), a good liar could tell when their skill wasn’t about to aid the situation.

“Well, no matter who you are, it’s not proper for a young lady to go around uncovered.” The man knelt, situating the coat around her shoulders. “Everyone in town talks about you. They say you ate the man who was attempting to assassinate my grandfather, the mayor. I must thank you for that.”

“Do you think that I ate your ‘brother’ too?” she asked, voice fluttering with innocence. Her black tail thumped softly on the damp ground.

“I think that you were only returning his coat to me, and that he really did drown,” he replied, expression deeply serious.

“I’m glad that you don’t doubt me,” she replied truthfully, for it was true that she didn’t eat the other man, and she _had_ planned to return to the coat the surface.

Still kneeling, the man held out a hand. “I am Ishimaru Kiyotaka. Would you tell me your real name?”

“I’ve never had a need for one,” she continued to smile, discovering, that oddly enough, she was no longer making a concentrated effort to do so.

“That won’t do at all!” Ishimaru began to look around, searching for inspiration. “I know! How about ‘Celestia’? Every time I meet you, the stars are out in the sky,” he declared proudly.

“…I like that very much.”

And so, each night Celestia would swim to shore and meet with the man with the fiery red eyes. It very quickly became clear to her that if she were to devour him, she could no longer look upon those eyes… or speak and laugh with him, listening to him recount good times he had shared with his best friend. There were picnics on the shore (after some prompting, Celestia eventually came to admit that the gyoza and milk tea he brought for her were nearly as tasty as human flesh), and many a midnight swim.

The only tears she now wished to see from him were tears of joy.

The two lived happily ever after.

_The end._

 


End file.
